Cotton picker



H. G. IRWIN COTTON PICKER` Filed sept. 1, 1920 4 sheets-sheet 1 Herber 6).' frm/z n. A

I Z755 j? JE.

.Fuy 8, w24. 1,500,992

H. G. IRWIN COTTON PICKER Filed Sent. l, 1920 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 1.9 k. 4 5 W 5.2 4 5 4 M; ,10

L i" A n" I if" 1%' o a 10/ J7 64 55 l 541 V4 erber 61. Irwin.

M KL? july 8 1924i. ,500, 992

- H. G. IRWIN CGTTON PICKER Filed Sept. l 1920 y 4 Sheets-Sheet-'S july s, 1924. 1,599,992

H. G. IRWIN COTTON PICKER Filed sent. l1 1920 4 sheets-sheet 1 03 Q Patented 'July y i924.

BERT G'. IRWIN, OF FLOYDADA, T .2

COTTON PICKER.

T. y j To all whom t may concern.' Be it known-that I, HERBERT G. IRWIN, a citizen of the United States, residing at lFloydada, in the county of Floyd and- State of Texas, have invented certain .new and useful Improvements inCotton Pickers, which the following is a specification.

This invention seeks to provide efcient means whereby ripe cotton may beJ mechanically Withdrawn from `the burs on the plants continuously as the apparatus progresses along a row of standing plants. Secondary objects of the invention are to provide means whereby, as the' machineis drawn along a row of`plants, the plants will be successively engaged by aplurality of members which will work through the plants and extract the cotton; to provide means whereby the said cotton-extracting members will be caused to slightly loosen the extracted cotton after withdrawing from the plants; to provide means for stripping the cotton automatically from said extracting members, and to improve generally the construction and arrangement of the parts of a cotton picking machine to the end that the `cost of manufacture may be minimized, the life of the machine prolonged and the operation thereof simplified.' These several stated objects and such other objects as will incidentally appear in the course of the following description are attained in such a machine as is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and the invention resides in certain novel features which will be,particularly pointed out in the claims following the description.

In the accompanying drawings- Figure 1 is a rear elevation of a cotton picking machine embodying my improvements;

Fig. 2 is a planv view of the same;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged plan view of the cotton picking members with the cylinder by which they are carried into and withdrawn from the plant and the scraper whereby the cotton is removed from the cotton-extracting members;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged horizontal section through the cylinder which carries the cotton-extracting members; v

Fig. 5 is a detail vertical section of the same. l v

In carrying out my invention, I employ a Application filed September.

1, l1920. Serial No. 407,383. V

frame which may be ofany desired construction and is illustrated as consisting of standards 1 carrying tables or platforms 2 at .their lower ends, arid side bars 3 secured to intermediate points of the height of said standards. The side bars 3 extend forwardly and are connected by a front cross as will be readily understood. The front ends of the tables or platforms 2 are also suspended in any convenient manner from the said front cross bar. At the rear ends of the side` bars 3 and preferably,y at the junction of the same with the standards 1, I provide thereon axles or spindles upon which are mounted the hubs 6 of ground wheels 7 and upon the inner end of each l bar 4 to which draft devices 5 are attached hub 6 I rigidly secure a sprocket wheel 8.

The wheels 7 obviously serve as traveling supports for the frame and inasmuch as the sprocket wheels 8 are fixed to the hubs of the ground wheels they will rotate with the latter and hence constitute prime movers to operate the working members of the apparatus. r

To the upper end of each standard 1, I secure rigidly a bracket 9 having a bearing sleeve 10 at its upper end and in the said sleeves 10 I mount the driving shaft 11 which is equipped at\ both ends with sprockets 12. Chainsr13 are trained around Ithe said sprockets 12 and the driving sprockets 8 so that the motion of the ground Wheels will be transmitted directly to the shaft 11. The sprockets 12 are held againsty outward movement upon the shaft l11 in any desired manner and at the inner side of each bearing 10, I secure to the shaft 11 a beveled gear 14 which meshes with a beveled pinion 15 on the upper end of a vertically disposed shaft 16 for a purpose which will be presently stated. A relatively long bearing sleeve 17 is fitted about the shaft 11 at the inner side of the gear 14 and at the inner receive the shaftsll and-20,the shaft 16'- being carried by its respective sleeve, as

shown inY Fig. 1, and the lower end ofthe Shaft 20'being journaled in the platform or floor 2 in any convenient manner. The

shaft 20 constitutes the axis of a cylinder 23 which is supported from the shaft by a plurality of spokes or radiallyl disposed arms 24 `which may be of.any desired form,

as will be readily understood. In the vertical circumferential wall of the cylinder 23, I provide a plurality of vertical series of openings through which the picker arms project and to the outer surface of said wall I secure bearing sleeves 25 in each of which one ofthe picker arms is journaled. On the inner surface of the circumferential wall of the cylinder, I secure, adjacent each vertical series of openings,

inwardly projecting brackets 26 in each I secure beveled Apinions 29 each2 of which vertical seriesof which a shaft 427 is jourvnaled', said shaft being supported at its lower end in a step bearing upon the bottom of the cylinderA and having its upper end 25 extending through the top of the cylinder and equipped with aspur gear or sprocket 28. At intervals upon the shaft 27 'corre-l sponding to the intervalsfbetween the bearings 25 and the openings alined therewith,

meshes with a beveled pinion 30 on the inner end of a picker 31 journaled in and extending through the adjacent bearing sleeve 25.

A` flexible Adriving element, such as a- SBF sprocket chain 32 is` trained around the sprocket 33 which 1s securedto the shaft 16 immediatel above the horizontal plane of the top o the cylinder 23 and the said chain 32 also extends over the top of the cylinder and is disposed to engage those gears or sprockets 28 which may within the bight of the chain, as will beireadily understood upon reference to Fio. 3. An idler sprocket 34 is carried by the upper- I most scraper 35 in position to engage the g saidchain 32 and thereby maintain the tenis turned inwardly, as shown at 38, so that 1t w1 ll not be apt t0 abruptly engage an ad` vancing gea and lstrip the teeth of the same.

The segment is projected outwardly about its pivot, so as to maintain the engagement of the rack 37 with the gears 28, by a spring 39 disposed between the free end of the segment' andthe side of the bracket 2 1 as will be 'readily understood. i

Each picker 31 is provided at its inner end with a portion 40 of circular cross section which extends through the bearing sleeve 25 so that the picker may rotate easily in said.

adapted to take into the cotton upon the l \plant. At intervalsbetween the outer free extremity of the picker and the bearing sleeve 25 other spurs or teeth 42 'project from its surface and it will be readily understood rthat if the lpicker be inserted in a plant and rotated, these several points, spurs,A or teeth will engage/the cotton and will roll the sameA l about the picker so that it will be withdrawn .from the bur. The angular cross section of the pickers provides corners which assist in rolling the cotton tightly about the picker arm and pulling the cotton from the bur,

and the picker arms taper toward their outer ends' to facilitate the stripping ofthe-cotton therefrom.

Above the uppermost annular series of pickers, below the lowermost lseries ofv pickers and between thev successive series of pickers throughout the height of the cylinder or. gang of pickers, Iprovide the strippers 35 which, as shown most clearly in Fig. 3, extend around the inner portions of the cylinders and are of eccentric forni so that as each series of ypickers is carried into and out of the plant by the rotation of the cylinder 23 the pickers will successively be withdrawn across the edges of the strippers and the cotton thereby scraped 'from the pickers. By reference to Figs. 1 and 3, it will be readily undefstood that the Scrapers are substantially arcuate plates set on edge andgiieinforced at-their working-ends by ribsl"'43 extending outwardly and forwardly beyond the extremities of the working portion of the s'crapers and secured \to an upright bar 44 los which is carried bythe platform or :Hoor 2.

In order to reinforce the scraper, it Cis provided with -an extension in advance of -the cylinder which fis secured to an vupright 45 rlsing from the forwardly extending portion of the p1atform',.as shown clearly in Fig. 2. Byl referring'to Fig. 1, it will also be noted that theupper and lower edges of the scraper are inclined or out of parallelism whereby the space -between ad'acent Scrapers, indicated at 46, is 'contracte as it approachesV the outer extremities of the Scrapers andthe bar or upright 44 so that while the pickers may recede through the said space the cotton which has been wrapped upon the picker will be brought i against the converging opposed edges of the adjacent Scrapers and thereby strippedfrom the picker. ff-

rlhe construction and arrangement of theor a tractor as may be preferred with the row of plants disposed between the cylindersJ 23. As the machine progresses,the ground wheels will im art motion to the driving shaft 11 througlij the sprocket gearing shown and described. The gears 15 and 19 will thus be caused to rotate in opposite direc- .isions so that the cylinders 23 will be caused i5 Sil? o rotate toward the rear of the machine at their adjacent opposed surfaces and the pickers thereby successively carried into and through the plants without combing the same. As shown in` Fig. 3, the cylinder will rotate in the direction of the arrow a, while the sprocket`33 and chain 32 will be caused vto rotate in the direction indicated by thel arrows b. The rotation of the cylinder will carry the pickers succe sively into and through the plants? and then past the Scrapers, and the gears 28 will also be carried successively into the bightof the vchain 32 by the rotation of the cylinder, and the` engagementv of these gears with the chain will cause them to rotate in the direction indicated by the adjacent arrows in Fig.v 3. The vertical shafts 27 will thus be causedto rotate inasmuch as the gears 28 are each secured4 tothe upper end of one of said shafts, and the motion of the shaft will be,

transmitted through the gears 29 and 30 to rotate the pickers about their own longitudinal axes: The several points, spurs, or7

teeth 41 and 42 will thus be caused to ac-- tivelyv engage the cotton and wrap it about the respective pickers so that it willfbe positively and cleanly withdrawn from the burs. As the'rotation of the cylinder 23 continues, the pickers will obviously' be withdrawn from the plant and the gears 28 will also be successively carried into engagement with" V the rack 37 which will impart a reverse rotation thereto, as will be obvious upon reference to Fig. 3 and consequently cause the pickers to reverse their rotation and slightly loosen or unroll the cotton so that as the picker with the cotton thereon moves across the edges of the adjacent scrapers the cotton will be scraped easily and cleanly from the picker, falling onto the platform or floor 2 whence it may be gathered 1n any convenient manner.

It will be readily noted thatl the pickers are arranged in annular series disposed in horizontal planes and also in r`vertical series or columns so that they are co-extensive withv the vertical circumferential surface of the cylinder carryingthem. The bushes are,

cylinderis within working distance of a bush, there will be'some pickers' in engagement with the bush. It will also be noted that the ends of the Scrapers are spaced apart and are radially beyond the arcs described by the free ends of the pickers, while the intermediate portions of the Scrapers encircle the greater portion ofthe A circumference of the cylinder and are eccentric thereto, being close'to the surface of the cylinder at the front thereof and following an arc gradually and continuously moving away from the cylinder at the inner side and the rear and the outer side of the same and terminating at a oint removed from the cylinder a greater distance than the length of the pickers. As a result of this arrangement, the full length of the cotton-wrapped pickers will ,be acted upon by the Scrapers upon the plant is directly engaged by the extracting members, .the loss of. cotton through a failure of the same to be held against the action of the wind is minimized, and inasmuch asthe mechanism which acts directly upon the pickers is enclosed by the cylinder carrying the pickers, the access of cotton thereto with consequent clogging of the same Vis prevented.

It is to be understood that I do not restrict myself to the exact form and arrangement of gearing herein specifically shown and described, and that various changes may be made in the minor details Without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as the same is defined in the following claims.

Having thus described my invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. In a cotton-picking machine, thecombination of a cylinder, a plurality of pickers carried by the cylinder and constantly radial thereto, means for rotating the` cylinder about a vertical axisfwherebyto carry the pickers into and out of engagement with a plant,- and Scrapers fixed above and below the pickers, the ends of the Scrapers being disposed in advance of and outwardl' beyond the cylinder respectively and ra ially beyond thearcs described by the free ends of the pickers, and the intermediate portions of the Scrapers extending from a point close to the cylinder eccentrically around the cylinder in rear of the same to a point removed therefrom a distance of the pickers.

- 2. In a cotton-picking machine, the comgreater than the length 'bination of a vertically disposed cylinder, a

plurality of pickers extending from the cylinder constantly on radii thereof and mounted for rotation about their own axes in the wall of the cylinder, said pickers being disposed in vertical series, a plurality of shafts mounted vertically in the cylinder and each ,adjacentfand geared to one vertical'series of pickers, gears ,on the upper ends of, said shafts in fixed v`relation to the cylinder, a

relatively stationary rack disposed above the 4 cylinder in the horizontal plane of Jsaid gears at the inner side of the path trayeled by them, means for rotating the cylinder, means engaging the said gears and acting thereon, at the outer side of the path traveled by" them, said means being positively caused tol travel in opposition to the direction of rotation of the cylinder, the rotation of the cylinder causing the gears to successively engage said last-mentioned means and the rack whereby the pickers will be positively rotatedin opposite directions dur1ng successive periods inthe rotation of the cylinder.

3. In a cotton-picking machine, the combination of a circular series of picker arms, means for turning said series of picker arms about its center to carry the several arms minals, and means for reversing therotation of the picker arms as they pass from between the scrapers.

4. `In a cotton-picking machine, the combinationgf a frame, a driving shaft mounted thereon, a cy inder supported vertically uon the frame below the driving shaft and having its a is geared to said driving' shaft, series of constantly .;radial pickers carried by the cylinder, a""plurality of vertical shafts carried by and within the cylinder adjacent the circumferential wall of the same and each geared to a series of pickers, the upper ends of said shafts extending throughwthe top of the c linder, gears on the upper ends of said sha ts, a vertical shaft mounted vbe- -lovsg the driving shaft at one side of the cylinder and geared to the driving shaft to rotate in the oiposite direction to the rotation of the cylin er, a sprocket on said last-mentioned shaft, and 'a chain trained aroundsaid sprocket, there being always operative plant, vertical shafts disposed within the cylinder in a circular series-about the axis of the same and each geared to a serles of pickers, gears on the upper ends of said shafts, a flexible driving element arranged across the top of thetcylinderz andhaving its bight engaged by some of s'aid gears, a rack pivot-ally mounted at one end to be engaged by each gear as it leaves the bight of the flexible driving element, yieldable means for holding the rack to the gear, and means for actuating the flexible driving element in a direction reverse to the direction of rotation of the cylinder.

6. In a cotton-picking machine, thecombination of a supporting frame, a cylinder mounted vertically on the frame, pickers carried thereby in vertical and horizontal series and constantly radial thereto, means for rotating the cylinder, and a vertical series of Scrapers each secured at one end to the frame in advance of the cylinder and extending past and in rear of the cylinder and, disposed eccentric to the cylinder at the rear thereof, the outer ends of the Scrapers being secured to the frame laterally beyond thecylinder and the pickers operating in the spaces between the Scrapers whereby cotton will be removed from the pickers at the rear and laterally beyond the cylinder.

7. The combination of a supporting frame, a vertically disposed cylinder mounted on the frame, a driving shaft mounted `transversely on the frame above the c linder, means for rotating the driving s aft, gearing connecting the driving shaft with thecylinder whereby to rotate the cylinder about its own axis, series of. picker arms mounted in the cylinder and projecting radially therefrom, shafts mounted vertically in the cylinder and each geared to a series of picker arms whereby upon rotation of said shafts the arms will be'rotated about their own axes, gears on the upper ends of said shafts above the upper end of the cylinder, a vertically disposed shaft supported at one side of the cylinder and geared to the driving shaft to rotate in a direction reverse to the direction of rotation of the cylinder, and means for transmitting motion from the vertically disposed shaft outside the cylinder to'the gears on said vertical shafts mounted within the cylinder. f

8. The combination ,of a supporting frame, a vertical cylinder mounted thereon, means for rotating said cylinder, a plurality iso vremesas@ l f of picker arms carried' by and projecting beyond the cylinder, the intermediate porradially from the cylinder, means for rotat-v tions of the strip er plates being disposed ing said arms about their own axes during close to the cylin er and passing in rear of 10 the rotation of the cylinder, and a plurality the same and between the respective pick- -5 of stripper plates each secured atone end er arms.

to the frame in advance of the cylinder and )i In testimony (whereof I affix m si nature. `at the opposite end to the frame laterally HERBERT G. IRWI L. s.] 

